<p>I am a NMSF - and fully expect to reach finalst stage. (Good GPA, Good SAT, Good Extracurricular, etc.)</p>
<p>I have applied to Fordham - as it seems to offer the best combination of a traditional campus and "The City" - and the more I read, the more I really like what I see. </p>
<p>I am a little unclear - does Fordham offer a specific Scholarship Program for National Merit Finalits? If so, what is the cutoff for declaring Fordham as "First Choice" with the National Merit Organization?</p>
<p>Semifinalists and Finalists can receive a full tuition scholarship. Need to be in top 10% of HS class and have strong personal qualifications as well (most NMSF/F have these).</p>
<p>Is there any "automatic" scholarship for a National Merit Commended Student in the top 10% of his or her high school class with a strong transcript and admirable extra-curriculars?</p>
<p>None of the scholarships we offer are "automatic". Even NM Finalists and Semifinalist are reviewed before a scholarship is awarded. These students need to be in the top 10% of their class and have a strong record of personal qualities in order to receive the award.</p>
<p>While we don't have a special program for commended students, many do receive scholarships from us as they are exceptional applicants.</p>
<p>Is it necessary to declare Fordham as the "first choice" school with NM to be considered for (or to receive) a semifinalist scholarship? The NM rules are a little confusing about how it works and it seems that schools all handle this differently.</p>
<p>You do not need to list fordham as your "first choice" with NM to receive the fordham scholarship. Of course, if you decide to come to fordham, you'd need to notify NM by May 31 that fordham is your "first choice"</p>
<p>Why is it that National Merit Commended Students with better overall stats aren't offered the same scholarship as Semi-Finalists and Finalists with lower GPAs, SATs, etc? National Merit awards are so dependent by state that it's really quite unfair.</p>
<p>I agree the cutoff for consideration is ONE TEST...no guarantee, but to not even be cosidered because of maybe missing one or two questions on a saturday morning seems a bit trite and lazy to me</p>
<p>Of course I know its the whole package but a whole package that is only considered based on 1 test one day involving a few questions.</p>
<p>National Merit takes into account competition within one's own state, so it's entirely logical to reward someone based upon his/her performance when measured against his/her peers. </p>
<p>It would be kinda arbitrary, wouldn't it, for Fordham to decide that, say, California kids are "smarter" than Mississippi kids, so the Mississippi NM finalists' stats should be ignored?</p>
<p>The bottom line is that scholarships (and universities) often have to set some rules and guidelines. Everyone should know those guidelines before applying or before taking the test. Complaining afterwards about it not being "fair" is not "fair" to the kids who earned scholarships by the stated rules.</p>
<p>I'm not questioning National Merit itself, but Fordham's policy. I'm sorry, but I do find it to be quite unfair that a Commended Student in a state with a high cutoff WITH higher grades and scores than a Semifinalist/Finalist from a less competitive state is not even considered for the same scholarship. I understand the purpose of the different cutoff rates. It is, however, as citygirlsmom said, one test on one Saturday morning. A student who was "merely" commended by National Merit can work their hardest and never even recieve consideration for the same award at Fordham that a Semifinalist/Finalist with a lower GPA and SAT score would. Suppose the Semifinalist/Finalist in question lives in a state with a lower cutoff. That does not mean in the slightest that their school would differ in difficulty in comparison to the hypothetical Commended Student's school. Why is so much weight being placed merely on the test and not on the overall student, regardless of the award granted by National Merit?</p>
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<p>Why is so much weight being placed merely on the test and not on the overall student, regardless of the award granted by National Merit?<<</p>
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<p>I'm somewhat playing the role of devil's advocate here, but I think Fordham's position is fair. It very clearly lists its guidelines for awarding merit-based aid, and it has chosen to use the National Merit designation to determine who gets some scholarships. It could easily have chosen, say, the ACT. And then, wouldn't the students who scored well on the SAT and PSAT have had the same complaint as yours?</p>
<p>Many universities proudly boast of the number of NM finalists that they have. The designation means something. There is plenty of information on CC that can tell a student what score she/he has to achieve on the PSAT to be a NM semifinalist. If a student didn't achieve that score, it smacks of sour grapes to complain of "so much weight being placed merely on the test" and to criticize Fordham for seeking to attract more NM students.</p>